Process of recovering caffein



May 23, 1950 A. c. sHuMAN PROCESS oF REcovERING CAFFEIN Filed July 20. 1948 52s :mss

EL; E

atented May 23, 195

Albert C; Sjunnam Rutherford,i N. vla .assigner to. General Foods` Corporation, .New York,- N y.,Yt, a-

Applicatnuzaulyfzo, 194s-,.sena1-Na. sauts 9 claims.- (cl. 26o-256)` rThe presentY invention relates to thev recovery;`

of cafeinfrom aqueous` coffee-extracts and'more particularly te the crystallization therefrom of caiein substantially. uncontaminated with other water soluble coffee constituents present-in such extracts.l

In d`eciatlei'natin'g'V coffee' intended for use as. a:

beverage,- it is desirable? to remove` the caiein without removing r affectingrv adversely those other constituents-'of the 'coffeev that provide its characteristic-flavor and aroma. These desirable constituents are fory the mostk part Waters soluble, 'and the' selective? extraction or separat'ic'i'nofy the 'ain from th bulk voffsuclfi Water soluble eo'r'istitent'sli'susually 'effected' by. the use. of water-immisoible, .organic `c'afiein solvents suchi asbenzene; toluene; hexane, trichlorethylene carbon tetrachloride; perchlorethylene.. methyl.U ehe ch1oride`,\ ethylene; dichloride and' the. like. The caffein can then be recovered by separating.`

ltffrom the organicisolventsolutionandv dissolviii'git Watenfas by distillingLoff thesolventor by liquid-:liquid extraction-and eventually crystallize'dy from' its e aqueous: solution.

For 'a longtime it was the, establishedy practice 'tolextract the; coiee. 'directly with the 'on` ganic solvent; in; spitey of. recognized and .serious disadvantages 'of th's procedure.A The direct-com tact.A of the' 'solvent Withthe.- coffee. removed` coiee w'aifesand oils along. with.y caffei'n and also prioduc'e'd adversevr effects. on remaining, constituents flavor and i aroma of the'c'oiee. beverage.r 0n the other hand the presence. of` the coiee *oilsy and waxes in the caieln 'solutionA made it diflcult to obtam-caieinsofl a high. degree or curity`Y even after repeated treatments: with' carbon and re crystallization.

It is also possible to extract caffein from coffee by means fof-r water.; thus avoiding `directcontact o-fl organic-solvent with the coi'liee7 `but this method of fdecaffeinati'on. was seldom used.l rbccause4 many other desirable Wateresoluble con sti'tuentsof the-coffee were extracted at thesame time, with: consequent objectionabler deterioration' in. the avor 'and aroma 'of the remaining coiee for beverage purposes. In recent years. however, `the method of U. S. {Patent No. :2,309,092 was developed munich-'such losses are prevented .byvv continuously recyclingv 'the' aqueous extract through the 'coifeef and. through -a liquidi-liquid extraction 'with a watereimmiscibl'e; organic caffein-'solvent such-as those mentioned-above.- flhus caiein v'is removed from :the aqueous solution the organic solvent. but theA concentrations; of

other; water-:soluble: coifeezi constituents` in. the a'queousfsolution build'A up until such-.other con-1 stituerits'A are no longer."extractedfrom. thev colee. Thisl method. provides. decaffeinated coee` of j, superior4 avor. and aroma for beverage. purposes, v anda1so-1fesu1tsinan organic' solventy solution i.

ofi caffein' which` can. be.y further: treated' as.. described'` above?v to recover.V the' cafei'n therefrom.

organic.: `solvent. caien 'solution of similar.

thisprocessfanaqueousiinfusion'- of roasted cof-A fee is' liquida#liquid: extracted: withl a., water-im miscible organic caffein solvent, after which the;

deeaffei'r'rated infusion suitably concentrated and-dried.V

Such-z organ-ic 'solventi solutions. of caifeinr 'obi-fy tained byy aqueou'sx'extractioniof? the: colTee fols lowed by .liqui'dliuuid extraction of l. the. l aqueous solution by the organic solvent, are waxsfreefsince the coffee waxes and.' oils;4 are notl appreciably soluble in water'and-.lienceareinot extractedl from the coif'eetoa materiaisextent. Hencethe calein canzbe vre:-dissolvedi-n:w.'=\.tt.\r and-then lcrystallized from vsuchi aqueousA solution Without the compl-ie cations wh-ich arlseinthec-ase ofslventextiac tion. ofv the coiee'due. toi the: presen-ce 'of' waxes and oils. On the-other handaqueous 4coffee-ciw4 tracts do.v contain' certainotherk non-caffein. ifnpurities. 'vvh-ioh...h'ave. solubility.k characteristics; so sfnnilar' to those' of' caen that. they-.are extracted from the coffee lwith:tl=1eicaein andi follow itinto the organicfsolvent solution andthence :into `the nal aqueoussolution from which. the-caffein isicrystallized; Qn crystallization, these .imp-uri ties res-ulti in: the. ionization 'ofr 'dark-colored, coarsely S'granula'r crystalsA 'instead-of.' the Vdesired white, Y 4need-leeshapedv Vcrystals of pure caiein; Such impure crystals -m'ust `be purified by further processing to render them of acceptable. qual-ity; and also they tend to clump together and unbalance the centriu'geslsed'in their separation.

In an efforttoecover caffein of acceptable purity from suchad'uous extracts of coffee, various attempts have been-made `toremove the aforementioned impurities but none hfas heretofore been satisfactory from the practical standpoint. The use of adsorbents such a's 'activated charcoal, carbon, and the like fail to removei the contaminants to a su''ci'ent' extent While-on the other hand la. large 'amount-. of.oaein also .adsorloedj.4` Caein lossesby such adsorption may'amountfto as much ;as;16v-l4-%o Weigl'itrof` .the lazlsorbent in the case of activated charcoal. Purification by repeated recrystallization of the caffein has not proved practical, since in this case also purication is eiected at the expense of decreased caein yield. Extraction ofthe caffein preferentially from its organic solvent solution by water or from its aqueous solution by an organic solvent does not eect any appreciable improvement from a practical standpoint, since as stated above the solubility characteristics of the impurities are very similar to those of caiein.

The extent of contamination of the caffein with the above impurities is increased when the initial aqueous extract is Vmade from roasted coffee rather than green coffee, perhaps because of a larger amount of such water-soluble impurities in the roasted coffee as the result of roasting. Also, green coffee is usually processed in the form of whole beans whereas roasted colee is usually ground preparatory to making the infusionwith resulting increased surface exposure that may make the impurities more available for. solution. In the latter event, even though the initial aqueous extract is extracted by an organic caifein solvent and the caifein then re-dissolved in Water, the impurities in the final aqueous solution may amount to as much as 30% by weight of the caiein. When whole green beans are extracted, the amount of impurities in the crystalling solution may be as small as 9% by weight of the caffein, but nevertheless the crystallized product falls substantially short of U. S. P. standards.

Y An object of the invention is to obtain a high yield of caiein of a high degree of purity from aqueous extracts of coffee such as described above.

Another object is to crystallize caein of a high degree of purity directly from its nal aqueous solution obtained as described above, in spite of the presence of impurities in the solution.

Another object is to obtain a high yield of Vsuch pure caffein. y

Another object is to crystallize the caiein in the form of White needle-shaped crystals.

A `further object is to eliminate clumping of the caein crystals and consequent unbalancing of the centrifuges used in separating the crystallized caein from the vremaining liquor.

A still further object is to accomplish the foregoing results in a simple, economical manner.

- I have discovered that a high yield of calein of a high degree of purity, and having the usual white, needle-shaped crystalline form, may be obtained by crystallization directly from aqueous solutions prepared in the manner described above, provided that the solution is first treated with an alkali base to raise its pH value to at least 7.0. Optimum results are obtained within the pH range of 7.0 to 9.0, although higher pH values can be used if desired. The following table illustrates the effect of pH on the purity of the crystallizred calein:

pH 9t- PerfntinCaf- Solution Crystals is not definitely established. These improvements may be due in part to increased solubilization of the impurities which prevents them from co-precipitating with the caffein, since the impurities appear to be organic materials of an I acidic character and hence the pH adjustment could be expected to convert them largely to their alkali salt. Usually such salts are considerably more soluble than the corresponding free organic acids. However, this simple explanation does not account for the existence of the aforesaid optimum range of pH values, since there would be no such optimum if the only eiect of pH adjustment were to form alkali salts. Also, when the mother liquor from which the caffein crystals are separated isV diluted and heated as explained hereinafter, the impurities precipitate whereas alkali salts would lnot be expected to precipitate .under these conditions.

The invention will be more lfully understood with the aid of the following description and the accompanying ilowsheet of operations found particularly'suitable for carrying out a process embodying the invention. It is to ber understood, however, that the operations shown are by way of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

Ground roasted coffee is extracted with hot waterY in the extractor l and the resulting infusion at a temperature of about 170 E'. introduced into the bottom of a liquid-liquid extraction column 2, a water-iinmiscible organic cafiein solvent such as trichlorethylene being introduced at about the same temperature into the top of'said column. Rates of oW of the organic solventk and the infusion are so regulated as to provide a ratio of about three volumes of the organic solvent to one volume of the infusion in thecolumn. The decaileinated infusion leaving the column near its top may be further treated in anysuitable manner as by concentration and spray drying (not shown) to produce soluble decaieinated coffee., In other cases, the'aqueous coffee extract circulating through the column may be an extract of green coffee as disclosed in Patent No. 2,309,092, etc.V

The trichlorethylene solution Vremoved from column 2 at the bottom will usually contain 0.11- 0.14% of caifein and 0.033-'0.039%'of Yimpurities by weight and have a'pH of about 4.2. The caffein .(accompanied by impurities) is then redissolved in water in any suitable manner, as by liquid-liquid extraction, distilling 01T the organic solvent, etc. As shown, the bulk of the organic solvent is removed'in evaporator 3 and recovered in a suitable condensing system (not shown). The concentrated solution then flows to steam still 4 where the remaining solvent is removed, the steam andV solventV vapors' also passing'to `the aforementioned condensing system. The resultingaqueous solution of caiein and impurities is then concentrated in 'a suitableconcentratol* 5A i until its /cailfein' contentk is about 130% jby weight.

The concentrated aqueous solution flows from thev concentrator 5v to a steam-jacketed mixing tank :6 where it is mixed with carbon that has been previously used in treating caliein crystallized at a subsequent point in the process as explained hereinafter. In tank 6 the solution is contacted with from 0.4 to 0.5 lb. of such carbon (on its original dry weight basis) per gallon of solution for a period of about one-half hour to remove a certain amount of dissolved impurities. Thespent carbon is filtered from the solution in a filter press I where it also functions as a `filter aid toremove small amounts of suspended, waterlnsoluble impurities. Following filtration, wash water is passed through the the filter press and combined with the filtrate. u

The solution leaving the filter press hows into a Hwater-cooled crystallizing tank 8 wherein its plv-I is adjusted to a value of 7.0 or above by the addition of one or more of the aforementioned alkali bases such as caustic soda or soda ash, Frein 0.02 to 0.03 lb. of soda ash per gallon of solution will usually sufce to increase the pH to about 7.8. Caliein crystals formed in the tank 8` are separated from the mother liquor and washed in a continuous centrifuge 9, the diluted mother liquor thus obtained being further processed as described hereinbelow. The crystallized caifein contains only about 2% of impurities, the exact amount depending on the manner in which the aforementioned mother liquor is processed, whereas without lpI-I adjustment the minimum amount of impurities would be about 9%.

If desired, the caffein obtained from the centrifuge 9 can be further purified in a steamjacketed mixing tank I Where it is re-dissolved in'. enough water to provide an approximately 30% caiein solution and treated for a half-hour period with from 0.4 to 0.5x lb. of fresh carbon per gallon of solution. This carbon with its adsorbed impurities is separated from the solution and Washed in a lter press Il, after Whic-h the carbon is removed to the mixing tank 6 as mentioned above. The ltered calein solution and washing's flow into a water-cooled crystallizing tank I2 wherein the caifein is re-crystallized, no further pH adjustment being required. The resulting cafein crystals are then separated and Washed in a continuous centrifuge I3 and sent to dryer I4. The mother liquor and washings from ie centrifuge are combined and conveyed back to concentrator 5, the amount of impurities in the mother liquor being low enough to permit such recycling without material effect in building up the concentration of impurities in the system. i

V The first mother liquor obtained from centrifuge 9 will contain not only impurities but also substantial quantities of caffein and hence may be further processed in any suitable manner to increase the yield of the process. For example, any of the following methods may be employed from time to time or in any desired combination.

The mother liquor may simply vbe returned from the centrifuge 9 to the concentrator through the linev I5. Although impurities are thus returned to the system, experience has shown that the recycled impurities unexpectedly precipitate in the concentrator to a suflicent extent that this method of operation is possible. However, the system must be purged from time to time, and the increased amount of water that must be evapabout 6 orated `in the concentratoitadds materially vto Vthe cost of thesprocess.

The mother liquor from the centrifuge S-iiiay also be concentrated further and cooled to provide additional -caffein crystal crops, although again at the additional expense required for such water removal. In connection with such vfurther concentration. if the pH has been adjusted too-high the elevated temperatures required for concen tration may cause hydrolysis of theeaffein. Acev cordingly, if the solution in the tank 8 is made somewhat strongly alkaline, it -is preferable `to add enough vacid to the mother liquor from the centrifuge 9 to reduce its pH to a slight alkaline orneutral value before concentration.

The flow sheet showsone such recrystallization stage in which the mother liquor fromthe centrifuge 9 is conveyed toa concentrator I6 and furtherconcentrated until itfcontains about-'30,4% caifein, the concentrated mother liquor beingthen introduced into a water-cooled, crystallizing tank I'l-. The slurry of crystals and mother liquor passes to a continuously-operating centrifuge I8 to separate the second crystal crop from the mother liquor, after which the mother liquor and the impurities contained therein are discarded. Such additional crops are considerably less pure than the first crop obtained from the centrifuge 9. `'Ihey may be-puried by recrystall-ization procedures, but at the expense of anadded series of operations that is undesirable. On the other hand, they may simpl;7 be returned via the line I9 tothe concentrator Sand recycled through the system, whereby their puriiicationis accomplished conveniently and at the same time the lamount of Water that must be removedA in concentrator 5 to provide a concentratedncaiein solutionfor crystallization Vis reduced. However, the latter procedure has the disadvantage of recycling some impurities through the system. 4

`A lthird method for handling the mother v.liquor from the centrifuge 9 is to separate the caffein from the bulk of the impurities and then to recycle the separated caffein through the system. This procedure is preferred because evaporation costs canbe kept at a minimum and because impurities do not build up appreciably in the system while the total caffeinv crop is obtained in pure vform at the centrifuge I3. ASeparation cannot be effected by liquid-liquid.extractionof the mother liquor with an organic caifein ysolvent because -stable emulsions are formed which prevent the essential separation of the aqueous and organic layers. However, I have found )that the bulk of the impurities may be removed from the mother liquor by adjusting its 4pH to a value of 6.0 or less by the addition` of any suitable acid, mineral acids such as H2804, HC1, l-IzSOs. H3PO4 and the like being .preferred although any other acid of suicient strength to reduce the pH to the required value may be employed. The irnpurities begin to precipitate as the is `reduced below 6.0 uand are largely precipitated at a pH of about 5.0 and almost completely precipitated at a pI-I of about 4.0. After the prel cipitated impurities are filtered off., the remaining mother liquor may be recycled through the system as stated above.

The foregoing operations are also illustrated in the ow sheet. The mother liquor from the centrifuge 9 ows into a mixe-ing tank -20 where itis acidied to a pH of about 4.0 `by the gradual addition of :about 0.9 lb. of concentrated sulfuricacid (98%) per gallon of such liquor. `4-After agitation for a suitable length of timeV to; in@

sure precipitation `o`f the maximumfamount of the impurities, the suspension is passed through a filter press 2| to remove the insoluble impurities,. the precipitate being preferably washed with water and the washings combined with the filtrate. v K

l-The combined filtrate and washings may be conveyed directly to concentrator 5 via the line 22 and thus recycled through the system. Preferably, however, the combined filtrate and Washings from filter press 2| are extracted with a water-immiscible, organic caffein solvent, being first heated to about 130 F. in a heater 23 and then supplied to the bottom of an extraction column 24 wherein vthey are extracted with at least three times their volume of fresh organic solvent introduced at about 120 F. into the topv ofthe column. The spent mother liquor 'leaving the top of the column is discarded. The solvent is preferably the same solvent as that employed in column 2, and in this event the organic caffein solution leaving the bottom of the column 24 is recycled to the evaporator 3 together with the similar solution from the column 2. The ratio of impurities to caffein in the recycled solution from column 24 is about one-half the ratio of impurities to caiein in the solution froml column 2.

The foregoing operations permit the recovery of U. S. P. caiein from aqueous coffee extracts With a high degree of recovery of the entering caiein. Prior to the present invention, the production of VU. S. P. caffein from such extracts required complicated and extensive operations of carbon'treatment and re-crystallization and the yield at best was only about '70% of the entering caifein. By crystallizing the Ycaifein from an alkaline solution as described above a recovery of U. S. P. caffein equal to about 85% or Lmore of the entering caffein is assured while the amount of carbon required is reduced to 50% or less. Still better results areobtained by suitable treatment of the mother liquor asdescribed above and especially in the case ofthe Y preferred'procedure' of acidication and filtration thereof. 4When the acidied and filtered mother liquor passes throughV the line 22 directly to concentrator 5, the yield is about 92% and the amount of carbon is reduced toV 2533%, and when the mother liquor is passed through the liquid-liquid l.column 24 the yield is about 96%. and the amount of carbon is further reduced Ato The inventionl has been described above with particular reference to extracts of 1ground, roasted coiiee, but it will be understood that processes embodying the invention may be applied as well to extracts of whole roastedV beans, whole green beans, flaked green coffee,';o r Vthe like. From the standpoint of decafeinationY only,

flaked green coffee ispre'ferable in some respects.Y

However, decalfeination is usually performed in conjunction with the production of aV coffee beverageV product, and in the case of green coffee decaieination must be applied to whole green beans since fiaked green coffee cannot be roasted to develop the characteristiccoffee aroma ,and flavor. In the case of roasted 1 coffee, `either whole roasted beans or ground roasted coffee may be decaifeinated, but extraction 'isfmore efficient in the latter case. Y

VIt will lbe further understood that the detailed procedures which have been described v'above may be modified in various ways Withoutj departing from the spirit ofthe invention, 'and accord- 8 ingly.` reference should 'be "had to the 'appended claims to determine its scope. Y

What is claimed is: Y

1. A process for recovering caffein from a solu' tion vobtained by aqueous extraction of coffee' which comprises extracting the aqueous extractwith a water-immiscible organic caffein solvent, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in water, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value of at least 7.0 by' the addition of an alkali base, and crystallizing the caiein therefrom.

2. A process for recovering caffein from a Solution obtained by aqueous extraction of coffee which comprises extracting the aqueous extract with a water-immiscible organic caffein solvent, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in Water, adjusting the pH of the result' ing aqueous solution to a value of at least 7.0 by

the addition of'an alkali base, crystallizing and recovering the caffein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of less than 6.0, and separating the thus formed precipitate and recovering the cafein from the thus treated mother liquor.

3. A process for recovering caffein from a solution obtained by aqueous extraction of coffee which comprises extracting the aqueous extract With a water-immiscible organic caiein solvent, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in Water, adjusting the pH of the result ing'aqueous solution to a value Within the range of 7.09.0 by the addition of an alkali base, crystallizing and recovering the caffein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of less than 6.0, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with a Water-immiscible organick caffein solvent, and recycling the resulting organic solvent solution. 4. A process for recovering caffein from a solu tion obtained by aqueous extraction of coffeev which comprises extracting the aqueous extract with a Water-immiscible chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent for caffein, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in water, adjusting the IpH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value within the range of 7.0-9.0 by the addition of sfodiiun hydroxide, crystallizing and recovering the caiein therefrom, acidifying the mother. liquor from said crystallization to a pH of about 4.0, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with a water-immiscible chlorinated hydrocarbon Vsolvent for caein, and recycling the resulting chlorinated hydrocarbon solution. v I 5. A process for recovering caiein from a solution obtained by aqueous extraction of coffee whichcomprises extracting the aqueous extract with awater-immiscible chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent for caiein, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in Water, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value within the range of '7.0-9.0 by the addition Y with a Water-immiscible chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent for caflein, redissolving the solute from said organic solvent solution in Water, adjusting the pH'of the resulting aqueous solution to a value within the range of 7.0-9.0 by the addition of potassium hydroxide, crystallizing and recovering the caiein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of about 4.0, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with a water-immiscible chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent for ca'ein, and recycling the resulting chlorinated hydrocarbon solution. i

7. A process for recovering cail'ein from a solution obtained by aqueous extraction of roasted coffee which comprisesfextracting the aqueous extraction With trichlore'th'ylene,distilling off said trichlorethylene and dissolving the residue in water, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value of about 7.8 by the addition of sodium hydroxide, crystallizing and recovering the caifein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of about 4.0 by the addition of concentrated sulfuric acid, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with trichlorethylene, and recycling the resulting trichlorethylene solution.

8. A process for recovering caffein from a solution obtained by aqueous extraction of roasted coffee which comprises extracting the aqueous extract with trichlorethylene, distilling off said trichlorethylene and dissolving the residue in Water, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value of about 7.8 by the addition of sodium carbonate, crystallizing and recovering the caffein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of about 4.0 by the addition of concentrated sulfuric acid, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with trichlorethylene, and recycling the resulting trichlorethylene solution.

9. A process for recovering caffein from a solution obtained by aqueous extraction roasted coffee which comprises extracting the aqueous extract with trichlorethylene, distilling off said trichlorethylene and dissolving the residue in water, adjusting the pH of the resulting aqueous solution to a value of about 7.8 by the addition of potassium hydroxide, crystallizing and recovering the caiein therefrom, acidifying the mother liquor from said crystallization to a pH of about 4.0 by the addition of concentrated sulfuric acid, separating the thus formed precipitate, extracting the remaining mother liquor with trichlorethylene, and recycling the resulting trichlorethJ/lene solution.

ALBERT C`. SHUMAN.

No references cited. 

1. A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING CAFFEIN FROM A SOLUTION OBTAINED BY AQUEOUS EXTRACTION OF COFFEE WHICH COMPRISES EXTRACTING THE AQUEOUS EXTRACT WITH A WATER-IMMISCIBLE ORGANIC CAFFEIN SOLVENT, REDISSOLVING THE SOLUTE FROM SAID ORGANIC SOLVENT SOLUTION IN WATER, ADJUSTING THE PH OF THE RESULTING AQUEOUS SOLUTION TO A VALUE OF THE AT LEAST 7.0 BY THE ADDITION OF AN ALKALI BASE, AND CRYSTALLIZING THE CAFFEIN THEREFROM. 